ALIQUIPPA, Pa., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lt. Governor Jim Cawley toured brownfields along the Ohio River today that once were home to a closed steel mill. They are now ready to serve new companies looking to do business with the proposed Shell ethane cracker.

The 400-acre property is located along a 4.5 mile stretch of the Ohio River, 30 miles north of Pittsburgh and within a few miles of the proposed site of the Shell ethane cracker plant.

"When we talk about the cracker creating jobs downstream, this is exactly what we mean. Companies that make everything from pipes to packaging to paint need ethylene and they will want to locate right here," said Cawley.

In 1993, C.J. Betters Enterprises (CJBE) purchased the property which included the LTV Steel Aliquippa Works. The mill was demolished and the land reclaimed. Last year, CJBE invested $5 million in a new dock, with $2.5 million in state assistance.

The dock will give companies easy access to barge transport along the river.

The American Chemistry Council estimates that the proposed petrochemical plant will create 17,000 permanent jobs, $1.2 billion in wages and $4.8 billion in chemical industry output, making Pennsylvania the seventh largest chemical-producing state in the nation.

"We will be a leader in natural gas production, a leader in energy independence, a leader in chemical production and a leader in job creation. And you will see it all, right here in Aliquippa," said Cawley.

Cawley also toured Beaver Valley Slag, which mines and processes the slag, which is a byproduct of producing steel, left behind by the old steel mill. The company employs about 30 people and mines approximately 800,000 tons of steel slag every year.